Reporting on crime takes a careful mind and a swift touch. It also requires precise language.

As I mentioned in last week’s column, crime falls under the umbrella of breaking news. Most of our crime reporting comes from press releases sent by the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office or the Ukiah Police Department, unless we happen to hear sirens and tune in to the scanner (which is how we come to report on most accidents).

Crime releases are always taken by a reporter with a grain of salt, since we know that what we’re reading is only a report, often a mixture of an officer’s experience and an eyewitness account from the accuser, the accused or both. This is why we are careful to always use words like “allegedly,” “reportedly,” “is accused of,” and, most importantly, “arrested on suspicion of” instead of “arrested for,” as that implies guilt. We also do this to follow the American justice system’s rule: innocent until proven guilty.

Only after someone is formally charged with a crime by the District Attorney do we drop the “accused of” and change it to “charged with.” And only after the accused person submits a guilty plea do we say, “admitted to.” Historically, those two instances would be dealt with by a reporter whose beat is the local courts, but, with shrinking newsrooms across the country, local crime reporters are being asked to wear both hats.

Many crime reports come while we are away from our desks, say after 5 p.m. or on a weekend, so we’re not always able to respond right away. However, with a time-sensitive event, say a car chase or a murder, we jump and get as many details as we can.

Many readers looking for crime news enjoy our Daily Digest, which we admit, can be humorous. Those are compiled from police logs and booking logs from the jail, and we do keep an eye out for interesting things that the UPD is asked to respond to on a daily basis. Our rule for jail bookings is to publish every felony, as well as DUI and domestic violence arrests. We sometimes get complaints about publishing names in the Daily Digest, or pleas not to publish a name, but since arrests and bookings are public record (and easy to find) we can and do print them. Traditionally, the goal of publishing crime logs has been to notify the public of wrongdoing in their community in the interest of safety.

Every once in a while, we get the opportunity for a crime scoop, like the story we broke on the marijuana raid in Willits last week. Although our relationship with law enforcement is mostly us bugging them for more details, and them mulling over how much they should give us, this instance was a great stroke of transparency on behalf of the Sheriff’s Office and its marijuana eradication team. Of course, they did so because they wanted an outlet to the public on the real and growing issue of harmful and irresponsible environmental practices in growing pot; nearly all the estimated 25 gardens had been diverting water, and most had been loosening up soil.

This partnership on an important issue or trend is what we look forward to in crime reporting, being let behind the caution tape and taking a peek into how exactly our tax-payer-funded law enforcement agencies deal with dangerous situations in the name of the law and public safety.

On the flip side, reporters must be careful to not punish the accused with what they write or insinuate guilt before it’s proven, as that responsibility lies with the justice system.